BOXING

BOXING

Rick Kern / Hartford Courant

Still known in boxing circles as the greatest featherweight in history, Willie Pep was the local kid with worldwide acclaim. That combination makes him perhaps the best representation of what Courant sports coverage was about through much of the 20th century. Bat Battalino of Hartford was world featherweight champion in the 1920s. Kid Kaplan of Meriden held the same title in the same decade. Then came Pep's brilliant 27-year career. The Magic Man, Marlon Starling of Hartford, would become the welterweight world champion in the 1980s. Other intriguing figures ¿ trainers Mac Buckley and Johnny Duke to name a couple ¿ were all over Courant pages, too. CAPTION: Willie Pep, former world featherweight boxing champion, poses next to an earlier photograph of himself in his room at the West Hill Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Rocky Hill in 2001.

Still known in boxing circles as the greatest featherweight in history, Willie Pep was the local kid with worldwide acclaim. That combination makes him perhaps the best representation of what Courant sports coverage was about through much of the 20th century. Bat Battalino of Hartford was world featherweight champion in the 1920s. Kid Kaplan of Meriden held the same title in the same decade. Then came Pep's brilliant 27-year career. The Magic Man, Marlon Starling of Hartford, would become the welterweight world champion in the 1980s. Other intriguing figures ¿ trainers Mac Buckley and Johnny Duke to name a couple ¿ were all over Courant pages, too. CAPTION: Willie Pep, former world featherweight boxing champion, poses next to an earlier photograph of himself in his room at the West Hill Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Rocky Hill in 2001. (Rick Kern / Hartford Courant)

Still known in boxing circles as the greatest featherweight in history, Willie Pep was the local kid with worldwide acclaim. That combination makes him perhaps the best representation of what Courant sports coverage was about through much of the 20th century. Bat Battalino of Hartford was world featherweight champion in the 1920s. Kid Kaplan of Meriden held the same title in the same decade. Then came Pep's brilliant 27-year career. The Magic Man, Marlon Starling of Hartford, would become the welterweight world champion in the 1980s. Other intriguing figures ¿ trainers Mac Buckley and Johnny Duke to name a couple ¿ were all over Courant pages, too. CAPTION: Willie Pep, former world featherweight boxing champion, poses next to an earlier photograph of himself in his room at the West Hill Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Rocky Hill in 2001.